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Three county health departments in rural Alabama will open one-day coronavirus testing sites during the next week.

County health departments in Lowndes, Bullock and Tallapoosa counties will provide testing for patients who have doctor referrals and meet certain criteria, which prioritize older people, health care workers or those with underlying health conditions.

Appointments must be made in advance, the Alabama Department of Public Health said in a release.

Clinics are scheduled by appointment only and conducted from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. as follows:

"If you have no symptoms, testing is not recommended. If you have mild symptoms and do not fall into one of the above high-risk groups, it is recommended that you self-isolate at home and call 1-888-264-2256 if your symptoms worsen," ADPH said in a release.

A data analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found Alabama ranks among the top six most at-risk states for its adult population. The analysis determined 46 percent of Alabama adults are considered “high-risk” adults, due either to their age or chronic health issues such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

There are now only five counties without a confirmed case of COVID-19, according to the latest numbers from the Alabama Department of Pubic Health, all within the state Black Belt or Wiregrass regions.

The statewide count has reached 1,1202 with 17 confirmed deaths, though there's been 32 reported deaths.

The coronavirus COVID-19 causes flu- and pneumonia-like illnesses. Many young and relatively healthy patients can recover at home, though some experts caution it is still more dangerous and intense than the average flu for many patients.

But it can be deadly, particularly in those older than 60 or with pre-existing health conditions, and asymptomatic people can still transmit the virus without knowing it, experts say. Alabama doctors and hospital leadership tell the Advertiser that Alabama is not equipped to handle a large influx of cases all at once. Social distancing and isolation measures must be followed, experts say, to "flatten the curve" or spread out the number of infections over a longer period of time. If widespread infections happen too quickly, Alabama will run out of hospital beds and medical equipment

The pandemic is expected to cause even more stress in rural areas, like Alabama's Black Belt region, with already overwhelmed or closing medical facilities. Coronavirus testing availability has been particularly concentrated in metro areas such as Birmingham and Huntsville.

Emerging research suggests COVID-19 is highly infectious and easily spread by carriers who have it, but aren’t symptomatic. Countries such as South Korea have seen success in severely suppressing cases and infection rates by widespread testing, identifying and isolating asymptomatic carriers and treating those who need it.

But many health care professionals in Alabama the Montgomery Advertiser spoke to last month said health care facilities have so few resources, widespread testing is not a possibility, meaning asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers may be slipping through the cracks as workers strive to conserve precious equipment.

The lack of personal protective equipment, or PPE, is a catch-22 for the state. Testing bias, or relatively low or stable confirmed case numbers due to low testing rates, may lull Alabamians into a complacency about where, how fast or in whom COVID-19 is spreading.